London Wall, London 1978

Description

This part of the City was dominated in the 1970s by the London Wall “slab block” developments, a series of Brutalist/International Style office towers built in the late 1950s–early 1970s as part of the post-war redevelopment of the Barbican–London Wall corridor. Much of what you see here has since been demolished.

Identifiable buildings in the photograph

1. St Alphage House (foreground right, the tall tower)

The large glass-clad tower occupying the right side of the image is St Alphage House, completed in 1962.
It had three linked blocks (North, South and West), but the tall block here is the North block, the most prominent of the group.
It was demolished between 2013–2015.

2. City Tower (centre distance, the dark block)

The dark building visible slightly left of centre, rising behind the lighter glass blocks, is City Tower, part of the three-tower complex known as the Citypoint Centre (originally “Britannic House”).
Completed in 1967, it is one of the few survivors of this view, though heavily reclad in the 2000s and now known as CityPoint.

3. Moor House (left background – tall, square, dark tower)

The darker rectangular tower sitting further behind the glass blocks is Moor House, completed in 1960.
This was the first major post-war office tower in the City.
It was demolished in 2002 and replaced by the modern Norman Foster–designed Moorhouse building.

4. Lee House / 65 London Wall (left foreground block)

The building on the left edge of the photo — a grid-clad 1960s office slab — is one of the original London Wall slab blocks, often referred to as Lee House or 65 London Wall.
This, too, has since been demolished.

5. The Highwalks and Pedways (raised walkway in the middle)

The pedestrian bridge cutting across the scene is part of the City of London Pedway system, a network of elevated walkways planned in the 1950s–70s.
Only fragments of the system survive today; most of the London Wall pedways were removed with later redevelopments.

6. St Alphage Garden remnants (far right trees)

The patch of greenery at the right is near the site of the surviving remnants of the Roman St Alphage Wall, which today form part of the public gardens.

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How the view has changed

Almost nothing visible here survives in its original form.
From 2010 onwards, the City Corporation cleared almost all these towers for the massive London Wall Place development.

Where these slab blocks once stood are now:

• London Wall Place 1 and 2 (Make Architects, 2017)

• Reconstructed pedways

• Open gardens around the Roman remains

• A completely different streetscape

The only recognisable survivor is CityPoint, and even that is radically reclad.